CHAMBER BREAKFAST: PGA veteran talks Travelers

Published 12:00 am, Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Steve Elkington, of Australia, chips to the green on the second hole during the third round of the Players Championship, Saturday, March 27, 2004, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP)

Steve Elkington, of Australia, chips to the green on the second hole during the third round of the Players Championship, Saturday, March 27, 2004, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP)

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHAMBER BREAKFAST: PGA veteran talks Travelers

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CROMWELL -- If one PGA golfer struggles at the Travelers Championship this weekend, blame his bed.

Steve Elkington, a native of Wagga Wagga, Australia, shared a story with members and guests of the Chamber of Commerce at its monthly breakfast Tuesday, about an experience he once had golfing with one of his idols.

Early in Elkington's career, he found himself paired with Jack Nicklaus, one of the players Elkington had modeled his swing after while growing up in Australia.

A little overwhelmed by being paired with one of his idols, Elkington ignored the fact that Nicklaus shot approximately 14-over par during the two days they played together, while Elkington shot 2-under par.

A week later, at the Senior Players Championship, Nicklaus shot a course record 27-under par, to win the tournament by six strokes.

One more week passed, and Elkington saw Nicklaus at the next tournament, at which point Elkington said he approached Nicklaus in shock and wondered, "how can a player shoot 14-over par one week, come back a week later and shoot 27-under?"

Nicklaus's response: "My wife usually books me a room at a specific hotel, but there were no rooms available, and my bed at the other hotel just wasn't right."

Said Elkington: "Jack Nicklaus just told me the difference between 14-over and 27-under was a bed? So from that day on, when I have a bad weekend, I blame it on the bed."

Elkington, or Elk as he is known to his fans, said he really enjoys this tournament because of the way Cromwell supports and encourages the tournament to be played here each year.

"The commitment to volunteering is what I like," said Elkington. "People really circle this event and they support it really strongly and I like that about this town."

One of his memories at this tournament is a Marshall who works on hole eight with his daughter. Elkington said the daughter was only about three years old when he started playing in this tournament. Despite the fact that she has grown up now, Elkington said he still sees her out on the course with her father. He expresses the importance of people volunteering for these events.

"I try to do whatever I can to help the tournaments," said Elkington. "I try to encourage all the younger guys - they really want to learn, it's just that they are thrown into the deep end, some of these guys were sitting in a college dorm room last year.

"Now they are out here playing on the tour ... There are a lot of young guys with a lot of potential and they can do it, they just have to learn and it is my job to help them."

Elkington is looking forward to the final four holes of the course. He said those holes are capable of making or breaking a round. He outlined his strategy for how he plans to approach them.

"I'd really like to get a birdie on 15. On 16 I'd like to hit the green and take whatever I can get there. 17 I have to hit the fairway, and 18 is the fun hole because you finish up there with the big crowd," said Elkington.

In the 58th year of the Travelers Championship, Elk would like to see a different outcome than his past 12 entries in the tournament.